Conveying means for mills



May 29, 1934.

G. L. FlsK v 1,960,307

CONVEYING MEANS FOR MILLS Filed Feb. 23, 1932 5 She-etS-Sheeb l INVENTORMay 29, 1934. FlsK 1,960,307

CONVEYING MEANS FOR MILLS Filed Feb. 25, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /W Y WXINVENTOR @\g, Mm

May 29, 1934. G. L. FlsK CONVEYING MEANS FOR MILLS Filed Feb. 25. 1952'5 Sheets-Sheet 3 V INVETIOTM wsfw, wwf

May 29, 1934'.

G. L. FlsK CONVEYING MEANS FOR MILLS Filed Feb. 23, 1932 5SheetS--Shee'l 4 INVENTOR May 29, 1934. G, l., FlsK CONVEYINGMEANS FORMILLS Filed Feb. 23. 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l INVENTO'R 66%( Patented May29, 1934 UNITED STATES CONVEYING MEANS Foa MILLS Gusta! L. Fisk,Pittsburgh, Pa., assgnor to Mesta Machine Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application February 23, 1932, Serial No.594,479

Claims.

The present invention relates broadly to the art of conveying, and moreparticularly to a new and useful improvement in the construction ofconveyors for use in connection with metal roll- 5 ing, although theinvention has utility in connection with the combined lateral andlongitudinal movement of different materials.

It is quite customary in the art to which the present invention relatesto provide rolling mill lil stands laterally disposed one with respectto the other and in more or less closely adjacent relationship. Withsuchinstallations it is frequently desirable to roll material in therolls of one stand and thereafter transfer the same laterally into l5line with the rolls of the other stand and effect a feeding movement ofthe material to the second roll stand. The present invention is hereinillustrated in connection with such a mill,' and the advantages of theinvention will be fully apparent by reference thereto.

In the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated certainpreferred embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of one embodiment of thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated inFigure l, the view being on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view on the line III--III of Figure 2,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line IV-IV of Figure 2,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view on thelne V-V of Figure 2, lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Figure 6 is a wiring diagram of the circuits for the motors for drivingthe rollers of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 5;

Figure l is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating a differentarrangement of the conical rollers;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating a slightly differentembodiment of the invention;

Figure 9 is a detail sectional view on the line IX-IX of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line X--X of Figure 8;and

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 1, but illustrating the modifiedconstruction of Figures 8, 9 and 10.

In Figure 1 of the drawings there is illustrated an installationconstructed in accordance with the present invention and including arolling mill 2 including rolls 3, and a second rolling mill 4 includingrolls 5, the two mills being laterally disposed one with respect to theother and in more or less closely adjacent relationship.

Adapted to cooperate with both of the mills is a conveyor including aplurality of tapered rollers 6 followed by a series of rollers 7 ofsubstantially constant diameter throughout the length thereof. Thetapered roller 6 located adjacent the mills 2 and 4 is of the greatestlength, and 65 is preferably of such length as to extend beyond thecenter line of the rolling pass of both of the mills. By reason of thisconstruction it is effective for receiving material being rolled in themill 2 and passing therethrough in the direction 70 indicated by thearrow A, and to deliver material to the mill 4 for passage therethroughin the direction indicated by the arrow B. Extending between therespective mills and the conveyor are troughs 8 and 9 of suitableconstruction and ef- 75 fective for supporting the material during itspassage to or from the conveyor itself.

By reference more particularly to Figure 3 of the drawings it will beapparent that the conveyor comprises main grders 10. Supported on thegrders 10 are side guards 11, which side guards are herein illustratedas forming projections on bearing housings 12 into which housings extendroller shafts 14 for cooperating with bearings 15.

In order that the upper surfaces of the various tapered rollers 6 maylie in a substantially horizontal plane, the shafts 14 are inclined asillustrated in Figure 3. Carried by each of the shafts is a. rotor 16with which cooperates a eld winding or stator 17 of a motor 18, wherebyeach 90 of the shafts 14, and therefore each of the rollers 6 may beindividually driven.

Carried by the grders 10 intermediate the housings 12 are supplementalcastings 19 forming fillers and providing material supporting surfaces20 constituting in effect a continuation of the surfaces 21 adjacent therollers. The castings 19 also carry side guard sections 22 extending inline with and constituting a continuation of the side guards 11.

With a construction of the character described, assuming that therollers 6 are driven at such a speed that the portions of minimumdiameter rotate at the same surface speed as that at which the rollers'7 are driven, it will be apparent 105 that the portions of largerdiameter which extend generally in the line of delivery from the trough8 are rotated at an appreciably faster peripheral speed.

It has been found that there is a tendency for 1,10

the material delivered by the mill 2 to accommodate itself to theportions of the conical rolls which have a surface speed approximatingits own speed. It has been observed, in operating a' conveyorarrangement such as that shown in Fig. 1, that the material delivered bythe mill 2, upon coming into contact with the conical rollers 6, isdeflected somewhat away from their larger ends, thus facilitatingdelivery of the material upon the cylindrical rollers 7. Upon completionof the rolling operation in the mill 2 and the complete support of therolled material by the conveyor, the conveyor may be reversed forfeeding the material into the trough 9 and thence into the mill 4. Theportions of the rolled material which are furthest away from the mills 2and 4 will be in contact with roller surfaces which have the slowestsurface speed, and the portions of the rolled material which are closestto the mills 2 and 4 will be in contact with roller surfaces which aremoving at faster surface speeds. 'I'he frictional pull due to thesespaced contacts with the rollers will be away from the mills 2 and 4 forthose rollers which have slower surface speed than the speed of movementof the rolled material, and will be toward the mills 2 and 4 for thoserollers which have greater surface speed than the speed of movement ofthe rolled material. The result is that the rolled material is swunglaterally on the tapered rollers until it extends over the portions ofsmaller diameter and is in alignment with the trough 9. Since theportions of all of the rollers of the conveyor which are substantiallyin line with the trough 9 are rotating at substantially the same surfacespeed, it will be apparent that the effect of the rollers is such as toautomatically cause the material to move to and maintain the proper linefor delivery to the mill 4.

I'he lateral movement of the rolled material into alignment with thetrough 9 is dependent upon frictional drag upon the trailing portion ofthe rolled material and frictional contact at the forward portion of therolled material between this material and roller surfaces which aremoving faster than the material. To obtain the desired conditions, theportions of the rollers 6 of larger diameter should be rotating at asurface speed which is faster than the surface speed of the cylindricalrollers 7. A variation of this would be to hold the rollers 7stationary, and thus provide a drag for the material when the rollers 6are being rotated in the direction for feeding such material to the mill4. It will thus be seen that when but a small portion of the materialextends far enough along the conveyor to come into contact with thecylindrical rollers 7, the latter may be held stationary or may indeedbe replaced by skids or the like.

As a preferred manner of operating the conveyor, the motors driving therollers 7 are permitted to continue their rotation for a short intervalof time when the motors driving the rollers 6 are reversed. Fig. 6 is awiring diagram illustrating the -circuits for the motors driving theseveral rollers of the conveyor. The operator controls the direction ofdrive of the conveyor by a main control switch S. 'I'he motors drivingthe conical rollers 6 are all `controlled from the panel P, and themotors driving the rollers 7 are all controlled from the panel P'. Eachof these panels includes forward and reverse master relays which areunder the control of the main switch S. A time delay relay T isinterposed between the switch S and the panel P' for bringing about atime interval betwe the operation oi' the relays of panel P and theoperation of the relays of panel P. mechanism diagrammaticallyillustrated in Fig. 6 are well known, these relays being ordinaryarticles of commerce; and, therefore, no more detailed illustration ordescription is deemed necessary. i

It is apparent, therefore, that when the conical rollers 6 are reversedto deliver material to the mill 4, the motors driving the rollers 7continue their rotation for a predetermined interval of time after themotors driving the tapered rollers 6 begin to rotate these rollers inthe reverse direction. This causes a quick lateral movement of theportion of the rolled material resting on the tapered rollers; and thematerial is thus expeditiously brought into alignment with the trough 9.By this time, predetermined interval of time has elapsed, and the panelP' acts to reverse the motors driving the rollers 7. Rollers 6 and 7thus cooperate to deliver the material to mill 4, the rollers 7 having asurface speed approximately the same as the surface speed of the smallerends of the conical rollers 6.

In Fig. 7 there is illustrated a different arrangement of the conicalrollers of the conveyor, the principal difference being that the conicalrollers are disposed with their larger ends adjacent the trough to whichthe material is to be delivered. In the embodiment shown in this figureof the drawings, the rollers 61 are driven at an angular rate somewhatslower than the angular rate of the cylindrical rollers 71. With thisarrangement, as with the one shown in Fig. 2, the material will passalong the conveyor from the flrst mill until substantially all of thematerial is supported by the rollers 61 and 7l. Upon reversing thedirection of rotation of the rollers, the portion of the materialsupported by the conical rollers 61 will be shifted laterally so as tobring the material into alignment with the second mill; and the rollers61 and 71 will then cooperate to deliver the material to the secondmill.

In Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 there is illustrated a slightly modifiedembodiment of the invention characterized principally by the fact thatthe shafts 14 of the rollers 6 and 7 carry bevel gears 24 which meshwith similar gears 25 on jack shaft 27 adapted to be driven by a motor28 through reduction gears 29. Apart from this difference, and theconstructional diierences incident thereto, the two installations aresubstantially similar and both embody the same advantages of operation.

The advantages of the present invention arise from the provision of aconveyor including tapered rollers whereby different portions of therollers travel at different surface speeds in combination withsubstantially cylindrical rollers. Such a combination of rollers resultsin causing the material being rolled, which material may constitute arod, bar, or the like, to shift laterally across the tapered rollers andinto alignment with the path of discharge from the conveyor. Thereversing of the direction of rotation of the rollers of the conveyorwill be effective for automatically swinging the portion of the materialwhich was trailing (and is now to lead) into the desired position fordelivery in the desired direction.

While I have herein illustrated and described certain preferredembodiments of my invention, it will be understood that changes in thecon- The details of the electrical struction and arrangement of theparts may be made without departing either from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of my broader claims.

I claim:

1. A conveying system, including a series of rollers having a loadingstation and a delivery station at the same end oi said series and offsetwith respect to each other, certain of said rollers being tapered andcertain thereof being substantially cylindrical, and means for drivingsaid rollers, said driving means including reversing means for reversingthe direction of rotation of the rollers and for reversing the taperedprior to the reversal of the cylindrical.

2. A conveying system including a series of rollers having a loadingstation and a delivery station at the same end of said series, therollers adjacent said end of said series beingAtapered and the otherrollers being cylindrical, means for driving the rollers and means forreversing the direction of drive of the rollers, said reversing meansreversing the tapered rollers a predetermined interval of time prior tothe reversal of the cylindrical rollers.

3. A conveying system including a series of rollers having a loadingstation and a delivery station at the same end of said series and oisetwith respect to each other, certain of said rollers being tapered andcertain thereof being substantially cylindrical, reversible motors fordriving said rollers and means for controlling said motors, saidcontrolling means including a time delay device for eiecting thereversing of the tapered rollers prior to the reversal of thecylindrical.

4. In a conveyor, a series of rollers narrowing to a throat, said seriesof rollers having at its wider end laterally spaced stations forreceiving and discharging material, means for guiding material from saidreceiving station into said throat, and means for driving the rollers inone direction during receipt of material and in the opposite directionduring discharge of the material, said rollers being conical to alfordmore rapid translatory motion for material in contact with largerdiameter portions of the rollers, whereby the material is swunglaterally into alinement vwith the discharge station.

5. In a conveyor, a converging portion and a portion extending from thethroat of the converging portion, said converging portion having at itswider end laterally spaced stations for receiving and dischargingmaterial, a plurality of tapered rolls journaled within said convergingportion, a series of rolls journaled in the portion extending from saidthroat, and means for driving said rolls, said driving means includingreversing means for reversing the direction of rotation of the taperedrolls in the converging portion prior to the reversal of the rollsjournalled in said extending portion.

GUSTAF L. FISK.

